HOOPLOG: Ricky Davis

One Liners

Fri, 05 May 2006 12:14:05 -0800

- Kobe Bryant is absolutely, hands-down the greatest basketball player on the planet.

- Flash Gordon's curveball is making a lot of Phillies fans forget about Billy Wagner.

- If Peter Forsberg is truly "The Best Player in the World" then he alone should have willed his Flyers over a Sabres teams whose most recognizable player is Chris Drury.

- How incredible would it be to see Kobe's Lakers vs. LeBron's Cavs in the NBA Finals?

- It's pretty clear at this point that A.J. Soprano will never be another Michael Corleone.

- The Rangers, Flyers, and Red Wings sent a ton of players to Torino and maybe it's not a coincidence those players are now on the golf course.

- Barry Bonds comes to Philadelphia this weekend and I hope to God that the Philly fans there don't embarrass the rest of us too badly.

- The 2006 NFL will go down as the best draft ever for the Eagles, beating out 2002's when they drafted Lito Shepperd, Brian Westbrook, Sheldon Brown and Michael Lewis.

- If Allen Iverson does get traded this offseason, the deal better not include Ricky Davis as the other centerpiece as was the case in a rumor I read this week.

- If you haven't already heard of Cole Hamels, you will by the All-Star break.

- Finals week during the Spring Semester is probably the longest week of the year.

No comments

Wolves get past Heat as Shaq sits out (AP)

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 09:17:29 -0800

Without Shaquille O'Neal filling the lane for Miami on Tuesday night, Ricky Davis was free to fill the stat sheet and lead Minnesota to victory. Davis had 26 points, a season-high 10 assists and seven rebounds Tuesday night to help the Timberwolves beat the undermanned Heat 100-96, snapping Miami's five-game winning streak.

Davis Helps Lead Wolves To Win Over Miami

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 09:17:26 -0800

Ricky Davis had 26 points, a season-high 10 assists and seven rebounds Tuesday night to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 100-96 victory over an undermanned Miami team, snapping the Heat's five-game winning ...

Scary in Sacramento, PLUS Dishevelment in Boston

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 07:59:33 -0800

People afraid of Artest coming to town need to refocus their apprehension towards this lady:

It was especially hard for Tara Holait of Woodland, who treated the Stojakovic trade news like a death in the family. She said she abruptly left her work as a mail carrier, hurried home, sobbing, packaged all of her Kings garb and threw it out, about $2,000 worth. She said the trade left her "feeling betrayed."

"I'm heartbroken," she said by phone. "Peja's done so much for us. I'm a foreigner like he was, from India. He means everything to people like me."

an effigy of Gavin Maloof hanging from a streetlamp in front of Morrison's, we should probably get the police involved.

Meanwhile, tonight's opponent may have bigger problems than us right now, as Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks and Justin Reed is off to Minnsota for Wally Sczerbiak, Stockton's Best #1 Overall Pick Michael Olowokandi and D-leaguer Dwayne Jones. Picks were also exchanged.

I doubt Wally-World or Kandi-Man will be ready tonight, so it should be Artestamento verus Paul and the Kids. This could end up being a real ugly, sloppy game.

But who cares? I haven't been this excited for a game since... last week's Laker game.

With Trade, Wolves Go More Athletic, Aggressive

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 07:58:45 -0800

"Searching for answers and maybe even some buzz after three of their worst defeats of the season, the Timberwolves traded one-time All-Star Wally Szczerbiak and center Michael Olowokandi to the Boston Celtics on Thursday night in a seven-player trade," writes Steve Aschburner of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. In return, Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks and Justin Reed are Minnesota-bound. "'I thought we had to get a little more athletic,' Wolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said in a conference call with Twin Cities reporters. 'We had to change up.'"

Celtics trade Davis to Wolves for Szczerbiak

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 07:58:41 -0800

The Celtics have dealt Ricky Davis to the Timberwolves for Wally Szczberiak in a seven-player deal.

Ricky Davis, Man Of Mystery

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 16:23:39 -0800

The Cleveland Plain-Dealer has an entertaining story today about athletes using fake names on the road. They have a fun anecodte about Drew Gooden, but the real fun comes with the sidebar, which lists the fake names some players have used. Some highlights:

• Shaquille O'Neal: Vladamire Mandingo
• Tracy McGrady: T. Pistols
• Bimbo Coles: Donald Duck
• Tyrone Hill: Greg Norman
• Ricky Davis: Dicky Ravis

Those are all pretty funny, but nothing can possibly compare with "Dicky Ravis." Is he serious? Yeah, no one's gonna crack that code. This barely beat out his other alias, "Icky-ray Avis-day."

At this point, your humble editors Lill Weitch and Chick Randler would like you to respect their privacy and don't bother them in their respective hotels this holiday season.

By Any Other Name [Cleveland.com]

When Minutes aren’t Enough

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 08:17:46 -0800

It’s no secret that here at FBB, our favorite stat isn’t points, assists, or even blocks. It’s minutes. The only way your players are going to help you win are when they’re in the game. And usually, the players getting the most minutes are among the most valuable players in fantasy. Case in point: Ricky Davis is seeing the second-most minutes per game in the league, and is responding with his best statistical year since ’02-’03. Even a marginal player like PJ Brown has some value while seeing 34.7 mpg like he is right now.

Still, sometimes players are so bad, that even when they get over 25-30 mpg, they’re still of no use to your fantasy team. So as much as we preach watching the minutes column in the box scores, here are some traps that you shouldn’t fall in to. In fact, we’ll even make a “starting” five out of them:

PG: Eric Snow, CLE – Snow might technically be a point guard, but in Cleveland, it’s tough to handle the ball much with LeBron and Larry Hughes hanging around. So it’s no surprise that Snow has no fantasy value despite getting 27 minutes per game. He’s yet to score in double digits this year, and last Friday against New Jersey he managed to not take a shot in thirty minutes of play. This isn’t really a knock on Snow – he’s just playing the system. But still, he’s got no fantasy value whatsoever.

SG: DeShawn Stevenson, ORL – Stevenson is one of those guys who’s just a letdown in every category. He’s not necessarily BAD anywhere, but he won’t help you anywhere either. His 12.8 points are okay, but the 3.6 boards, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals and zero threes, to go with so-so percentages, are all too low to help your fantasy team.

SF: Bruce Bowen, SA – Bowen might be a defensive stopper, but unless that “stopping” includes a bunch of steals or blocks, that means nothing to your fantasy team. Bowen is extra dangerous because NBA announcers are in love with him – it’s like word got out that he’s a good defender, and now that’s all that the color commentators can talk about. Still, Bruce does his 1.6 threes per game, and manages one steal, but in 35 minutes, you’d expect more than 8.2/3.5/1.7. Unfortunately, you’re not going to get any more from that, as those numbers are right in line with what he’s done the last few years.

PF: Austin Croshere, IND – Remember that one time when Austin Croshere was supposed to be really good, so he got that huge contract extension from the Pacers? Yeah, well, that turned out to be a not-so-good idea. After struggling with injuries and a lack of playing time for a few seasons, Croshere has been a fixture in the Pacers rotation for the past year, seeing 25 mpg last year and 27 so far this year. Not that anyone’s noticed. Despite nice FT% (92%) and rebounds (6.9), he’s helpful nowhere else unless you are really desperate for three’s … and I mean REALLY desperate.

C: Jason Collins, NJ – Getting 27 minutes per game and having no fantasy value whatsoever is quite a feat. But having those minutes and having no value despite qualifying at center is downright incredible. Collins is our MVP (LVP?) of minutes-wasters, as this year he’s taken his stink-dom to new levels. Despite being useless last year, this year has been even worse, as his per-48-minute averages for points and boards are down, he free-throw shooting is at 42.9% (I wish I was making that up), and despite being seven feet tall he’s got only 0.2 blocks per game. Granted, he’s been hurt, but that’s no excuse. For shame, Jason Collins.

On a side note, in second place for centers is Jason’s twin brother, Jarron, in Utah. Must be something in the blood.

Weekend Preview: 12/9-12/11

Fri, 09 Dec 2005 08:15:04 -0800

With all of the snow and cold making it’s way across the country the past couple days, there’s no better way to spend your weekend holed up at home watching basketball. So for today’s weekend preview we’re gonna give you not one but THREE games of the week, one for each day of the weekend.

New Orleans/OKC Hornets at Portland Trailblazers, Friday, 10 pm EST

How about the Hornets as the most pleasant surprise over the first month of the NBA season? A team led by Chris Paul, PJ Brown and David West was 8-7 with wins over decent teams like Sacramento, Denver and Minnesota before dropping their last three. Now that they’re coming back to earth, you’ve got to wonder if the lineup might shuffle a bit – right now, Desmond Mason, JR Smith, and Speedy Claxton are all just short of playing 30-33 mpg – which is what the all need to have value. See if any of them are staking claim to those minutes.

For the Blazers, we discussed Darius Miles during the mailbag this week, and here’s a good chance to check out that rag-tag bunch of reserves who are going to be clamoring for his minutes. My money is still on Ruben Patterson to stand out above the crowd.

Boston Celtics at Dallas Mavericks, Saturday, 8:30 pm EST

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been loving watching the Celtics this year. The Paul Pierce/Ricky Davis combo is pretty exciting, and the frontcourt jumble has kept things interesting from a fantasy perspective. Right now the hot hand to be seems to be Al Jefferson, at least according to Sports Troopers, but that could always change in a week. Still, for those of you looking for big man help, keeping on top of this situation and guessing correctly could see some nice dividends.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, I’ll personally be looking for Jason Terry to come back to the court after I traded for him the day before he went down with a quad injury (thanks, Jason!). But I’ll also be watching Adonal Foyle part II, DeSagana Diop. 2.1 blocks and 4.8 boards in just 17 mpg? If he manages to start scoring, he’ll have a shot at taking away some time from Erick Dampier, and might actually have fantasy value this year. Repeat, MIGHT.

Detroit Pistons at LA Clippers, Sunday, 9 pm EST

We also talked about the Pistons in this week’s mailbag, and right now they’re playing some great basketball. They’re really a different team under Flip Saunders, much more offensive-minded. Plus, from a fantasy perspective, they’re pure gold – with all 5 starters getting between 33 and 38 mpg. But I’ll be watching the three top reserves – Maurice Evans, Antonio McDyess, and Carlos Arroyo. They’ve all got fantasy potential should any of the big 5 go down for an extended period of time, so it’ll be nice to know what to expect.

As for the Clippers, just enjoy it. Everything is clicking right now for them – Elton Brand is my pick for MVP right now, Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley are doing everything the could have hoped, and Chris Kaman is the ugliest man to play basketball in a long time, and is hilarious to watch.

So there you have it. Enjoy the weekend!

Close loss to Celtics adds to Brown's agony

Sun, 04 Dec 2005 14:34:00 -0800

Ricky Davis scored 27 points and made two free throws with 8.7 seconds left, then Nate Robinson missed a long 3-pointer on the game's final play as the Boston Celtics beat the Knicks 102-99 Sunday to win their ...

Cavs' Jones hurts ankle

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 17:45:51 -0800

Cavaliers point guard Damon Jones left Tuesday night's game with a sprained left ankle after banging into Boston Celtics guard Ricky Davis in the second quarter. Jones was moving to his left while playing defense against Davis and rolled his ankle when the two got their legs locked up. Jones went down and had to be helped off the floor and to the Cavs' locker room. The club said he would not return to the game, and that he was questionable for Thursday's game at Indiana.

The Truth is Out.

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 09:27:35 -0800

Here at FBB headquarters, we do our best to make sure that our readers (hi, Mom!) are as prepared as they could possibly be for their fantasy drafts. And because we did all these rankings, analysis, etc., you’d think that we’d be totally ready for our draft, which happened this past weekend. But were we really ready? Well, that’s for you to judge. So, today, I’m going to go over my team and do a little self-analysis. Then tomorrow, DM will do the same for himself.

So you know, our league is 12 teams, and our positions are PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, C, Util, Util, Bn, Bn, Bn.

BV’s Draft

1st Round (7th overall): Tim Duncan, F/C.
I was expecting at 7 to get the remains of Duncan/Kobe/T-Mac, but then D. Wade went at 6 and I ended up with both T-Mac and Duncan and I had to make a choice. I ended up with Duncan because of my concerns about McGrady’s legs. Sure, Duncan is a big injury risk, but I couldn’t allow myself to enter the season with my stud player already hurt.

2nd Round (18th overall): Stephon Marbury, PG
After Duncan in the first round, I knew I wanted a PG in the second. My choices here were Marbury, Bibby, Baron Davis, and Stevie Franchise. I went with Marbury because of four numbers: 82, 81, 81, 82. Those are the number of games he’s played in the last four seasons. After getting an injury risk with Duncan, I needed someone I could count of for 80 games as my number 2 man.

3rd Round (31st overall): Jason Richardson, SG
After getting both a C and PG in the first two rounds, the third and fourth rounds were going to be purely best-player-available. Richardson was that, just edging out Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard.

4th Round (42nd overall): Chauncey Billups, PG
At this point I was hoping for one of three forwards to slip to me here: Bosh, Howard, or Richard Jefferson. Didn’t happen. Though I didn’t really want 3 guards in my first four picks, Billups was the best player available, just edging out Andre Iguodala.

5th Round (55th overall): Sam Dalembert, C
Well, this was stupid. I wanted a big man, and I liked Dalembert, but I forgot the golden rule of drafting: Before you make your pick, make sure he’s not hurt. I should have taken Carmelo Anthony here. Now, I’ve got some work to do to make up for this pick.

6th round (66th overall): Antawn Jamison, F
Here, we’re really in the worst part of the draft. Guys that you know are going to have to contribute to your team, but nobody that you really want to depend on. I could have gone a bunch of different directions with this pick, but I took Jamison because A) Other than last year, he’s not much of an injury risk, and B) I needed rebounds after the disastrous pick last round, and he gives you that.

7th round (79th overall): Troy Murphy, PF
This late in the draft, if you can find a double-double guy who will also contribute in three’s, you’ve gotta take him. Between him and J-Rich, I’ve got a lot of faith in the Warriors this year.

8th round (90th overall): Jamaal Magloire, C
At this point, I’m still reeling from my Dalembert pick, and I know that I’m going to need some depth at C. So here’s a BCA (Best Center Available) pick, and I’m happy to have him as a fill-in starter/utility man for Duncan and Dalembert.

9th round (103rd overall): Nenad Krstic, C
See above. Now I’ve got 4 centers that I can feel ok about putting into my starting lineup. That will hopefully be enough.

10th round (114th overall): Ricky Davis, G/F
Call it a hunch, maybe, but this late I want someone I can play at the Utility spot when I have to, but that I can also sit on my bench so I can ride a hot hand. Also, as a G/F, he’s going to give me some roster flexibility.

11th round (127th overall): Charlie Villanueva, F
OK, I know, this is early for Illanueva (come on, that’s an awesome nickname for him and you know it). But there were three guys I was targeting to get in the mid-late rounds: Stromile Swift, Eddie Griffin, and Villanueva. Swift went in the sixth, three picks before I was going to take him. Griffin went in the seventh, which nearly made me fall out of my chair. So I reached a little bit so that I was sure to get one of my three targeted guys.

12th round (138th overall): Antoine Walker, F
Seriously? I mean, Walker can be a kiss of death for a fantasy team, but in the 12th round? This is a guy who could have gone in the 7th or 8th and nobody would have blinked.

13th round (151st overall): Rashad McCants, G
Hey, why not? I mean, the kid can score. But at the same time, I don’t expect him to be on my team for more than a week.

So, for those of you keeping score at home:

PG Stephon Marbury
SG Jason Richardson
G Chauncey Billups
SF Antawn Jamison
PF Antoine Walker
F Troy Murphy
C Tim Duncan
C Jamaal Magloire
Ut Nenad Krstic
Ut Ricky Davis
Bn Samuel Dalembert
Bn Charlie Villanueva
Bn Rashard McCants.

My major concern this year will be my FT%, but if Duncan can get back over the 70% mark, I should be ok. Plus, if Dalembert gets healthy soon, then I should have a glut at C which should help me out in the trade market. Only one guy on my squad played under 66 games last year (Magloire), so that is comforting.

Tomorrow: DM.

Eastern Conference Preview - Atlantic Division

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 10:22:48 -0800

Boston Celtics

What can i say about the Celts? I'm confused by this team year after year. It's nice to see them do well, but sometimes i have to wonder how they do it? Paul Pierce of course is the only consistent scorer Celtics fans have known for years.

This off season they lost Antoine Walker. You know, when Walker came back to the Celtics last season and played next to Pierce again, it was like the good ol' days, before Walker got it through his thick skull that he had a better chance of winning a championship with the Dallas Mavericks and eventually found himself in the worse position of playing for the bottom feeding Atlanta Hawks before he was traded at the deadline back to the Celtics. Once again Walker has taken off for greener pastures and is banking on Shaquille O'Neal's ability to win games and increase his championship aspirations. Walker has even stated he wouldn't mind coming off the bench in Miami. What? Antoine, say it ain't so... Aww.

Mark Blount disappointed last season after signing a big contract. Why does that happen anyway? The player isn't as hungry anymore? Now he's got enough money to buy all the "big man" dinners he can eat.

Ricky Davis was a legitimate sixth man award candidate last season and he brought his game to a new level, toning down on the head games he usually plays and concentrating on coach Doc Rivers' plan of action.

What i wonder now is who will play point guard for the Celtics? Gary Payton has decided to go off and hang from Shaq's nuts for another year in hopes of winning his much desired championship, and for that reason alone i am putting the official HEX on that Miami Heat. The only way they should win the championship is if they trade Payton to the Hornets before the playoffs. That's right, let "the glove" deal with that bit or reality.

The Celtics are deep at point guard still, very deep, but the skill level is questionable. They have young guards capable of shinning at different points, so it will be the coach's job to figure out who will bring the most to the table. Marcus Banks, Delonte West, Orien Greene and Will Bynum will all be competing for minutes at the point.

Another big question mark? Gerald Green. What will the rookie bring to the floor with him? Before the draft he was touted as the next Tracy McGrady, but he sunk from the projected top 6 pick down to where the Celtics picked him at number 18. The look on his face when he was passed by pick after pick was priceless.

Look for Al Jefferson to step up this year and be the starting power forward. Jefferson was the steal of the draft last season and showed a lot of toughness and his skills should be greatly improved after one season in the league.

My Picks:

Best Player: Paul Pierce
Best Rookie: Gerald Green
Prediction: 2nd (Atlantic), 8th (East)

Philadelphia 76'ers

The Sixers made an impressive push for first place in the Atlantic last season. After starting the year badly, Allen Iverson did his usual and saved the team from mediocrity until his teammates and some trades came to relieve some pressure.

The biggest move last season was the acquisition of Chris Webber, or shadow thereof. The power forward was one of the more dominant players years ago. Although he's shown he can still score points and bring down a bunch of rebounds, his paycheck still reflects the performance of years past and his contract along with Iverson's will eventually choke the 76'ers, so they have to win now! There is no time to waste.

The Sixers were able to re-sign most of the free agents they stood to lose and hopefully will benefit from the resigning of Kyle Korver, the sharpshooter and Samuel Dalembert, who seemed destined to make major money, even though he's just shown spurts of what people assume will be a great defensive game and decent offensive abilities.

I was reading another preview article this morning and the name Jamal Mashburn came up. I had to double check the date of the article. Mashburn has been gone from the league so long, he should have joined the cast of "Lost". It seems there is a possibility of Mashburn actually getting some playing time this season. I don't know, i don't buy it. Until i actually see Mash playing some pre-season games, or just plain suiting up for a shoot around, I'm not going to anticipate anything. However, if the Sixers were to get even 40 games out of a player with that kind of skill, it couldn't hurt, could it?

The guy that excites me the most is another solid pick from last years draft, Andre Iguodala. He doesn't seem to show at the top of the scoring sheet, but that kind of honor is obviously bestowed on Iverson and Webber at this point, but Iguodala does everything right. He's a decent defender, and exciting slasher to the basket and DAMN, he's got some hops, that's for sure. I look forward to the "other" AI getting more involved in the team's offensive schemes and I'm sure he won't disappoint.

My Picks:

Best Player: Allen Iverson
Best Rookie: *
Prediction: 3rd (Atlantic), 9th (East)

New Jersey Nets

Ok, first off, living in Toronto tends to skew your view of the Nets. No doubt the Nets were able to pick Rob Babcock's pocket in picking up Vince Carter. The picks Toronto acquired may or may not pan out and that answer is years in the future.

Jason Kidd is the heart and soul of this team and both Richard Jefferson and Carter will take the lead from Kidd. This is a powerful three headed monster we're looking at. If Kidd can remain injury free this season, there is no doubt the Nets will be contending for the top position in the Atlantic.

Carter and Jefferson have to be regarded as the top offensive duo on the Atlantic and the team isn't too shabby on the defensive end either.

Nenad Krstic became one of my favorite players to watch last season. After trading Aaron Williams to Toronto in the afore mentioned Carter trade, not only did Krstic find more minutes to showcase his skills, but he played well enough to earn more minutes than Jason Collins, who's been starting in New Jersey for years.

The off season has been a weird one for the Nets. The Nets' team doctors have uncovered a heart aliment in Robert Traylor and found what may turn into bad knee tendinitis in Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Not signing Traylor was that painful for the Nets, but I'm sure they will be feeling the loss of a player like Abdur-Rahim, who would have made the starting lineup completely well rounded and potent, might leave some fans in New Jersey wondering what could have been.

The Nets did solidify their point guard position with the signing of Jeff McInnis. McInnis is a decent point guard and may see some time as the shooting guard. The signing will also insure the team won't be left high and dry of something were to happen to Kidd this season.

The Nets' first round pick this year, Antoine Wright, by all accounts should be a solid contributor off the bench, a capable scorer and good shooter.

It's doubtful the teams impending move to Brooklyn will weigh on the players minds, but you can't completely discount something like that.

My Picks:

Best Player: Richard Refferson
Best Rookie: Antoine Wright
Prediction: 1st (Atlantic), 5th (East)

Toronto Raptors

Woah Nelly! Another year in Toronto, another set of Desperate Housewives set of dramatic events. The season hasn't yet begun and the media had a field day with GM Rob Babcock. ESPN simply murdered Babcock's pick of Charlie Villanueva on draft night. I must admit, i was sitting at home ready to bury my logitech mouse through my 21" monitor.

Babcock appeared to have been taken advantage of in the trade of Vince Carter last season, getting 3 players and 2 draft picks. None of the 3 players acquired proved to be starters on the Raptors, in fact, the Raptors had to deal with Eric Williams requesting a trade out of Toronto (which he's recently rescinded) and in a move that angered a lot of fans, the Raptors paid Alonzo Mourning $10 million dollars to simply not show up in Toronto, freeing him up to sign with Miami and back up Shaq.

Babcock was also quoted in the media recently as stating that this year's team WILL NOT win more games than last years team. It's true that the team lost Donyell Marshall, who was a good scorer and solid contributor to the team, but once again, the fans went crazy with "Fire Babcock" chants. It may be the truth, but damn, the truth hurts and it shows Babcock's unprofessionalism.

On the court though, things may not be that bad. Chris Bosh has emerged as a powerful weapon the team should move to make the number one option on offense. Jalen Rose is still a good scorer on any team, and when his head is into it, he can play good defense and change the scope of a game with his post skills. Let's hope he can admit the need of the young players getting some much needed minutes if this team is to move forward anytime soon. Rose has been rumored in trade talk with the LA Lakers, and Rob Babcock has stated there is a 50/50 chance of a trade before the beginning of the season and speculation has it, Rose's contract would be a nice one to get rid of.

Villanueva will be a question mark until the team figures out where he's going to fit on the court with Bosh. What ESPN had right in their diatribe, is that the Raptors drafted a player that plays the same position as Bosh, forcing one of the two players to play out of position. Although Bosh had some success playing center, his game is more tuned to the power forward position. Villanueva has been rumored to play the center position, which is possible, but he's also been rumored to play the small forward position, which would be interesting with his size, but most think his lack of foot speed will get him eaten up in the NBA game speed.

Joey Graham is a physical specimen as many are fond of saying. He's got a great NBA body, good work ethic and appears to be able to do everything needed on the court. I see some of Andre Iguodala's game in Graham and if that's the case, it's not a bad thing at all.

What can i say about the point guard? Rafer Alston was actually one of the best point guards in the East last season, no doubt about it. He could have had his assist numbers rival the best dimers in the league, but he did fall in love with his shot towards the All-Star break and the relationship with coach Sam Mitchell was strained towards the end of the season. If Alston understands the game plan this season and begins picking his spots more carefully, his play can open up the offense and give the young players some room to maneuver. Just gotta keep those emotions in check Rafer!

Oh, one more thing. Rafael Araujo has actually regressed if you believe his performance with the Brazilian national team this summer. The backup center on the team seemed to school him at most practices and his opponents on the court were able to get the best of him for the most part. It's true that "big men" take longer to develop, but this is going to be one of those players we will label as an undeniable bust if he doesn't log significant minutes with the Raptors this season. Not just because he was picked at number 8 in last season's draft, but because he's now 25 years old, which was supposed to be a selling point, "he's already a man and understands his responsibility", but was there a player in the league that looked more lost at times on the court? I watch a lot of basketball and i don't remember one.

My Picks:

Best Player: Chris Bosh
Best Rookie: Joey Graham
Prediction: 5th (Atlantic), 14th (East)

New York Knicks

Oh Boy! Hmmm... The Knicks is the team where talent goes to die, or so it seems. The team consists of high paid under achievers with attitudes to boot.

The best move the Knicks made this off season? No, it wasn't trading for Quentin Richardson, it wasn't signing an immobile center in Jerome James, it wasn't deciding to keep Allan Houston and pay him him incredible salary. Their best move was to sign a coach in Larry Brown that seems to make talent gel, regardless of the talent gathered, and damn, they can use some of that magic.

I will keep my Isaiah Thomas rant short, but damn, this guy knows how to spend money, doesn't he? Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson, Stephon Marbury, all players i believe are overpaid and are in New York because Thomas wanted them, he can only use the previous GM as an excuse for so long.

With the bad, comes the good. The Knicks were able to acquire Nate Robinson with the Phoenix suns 21st pick in this years draft and if the pre-season is any indication, Robinson is a steal. There is a video being circulated on the Internet of Robinson one-hoop catching an offensive rebound mid-air and dunking it back over 3 Minnesota Timberwolves summer league participants. Incredible, but how much playing time will Robinson get being a rookie and backing up Marbury?

I'm not comfortable predicting anything with the Knicks. I don't like the way the team is managed but i respect their coach's coaching ability.

The team might be a good position to get younger at the end of this season. Will someone trade some youth for Anfernee Hardaway or Tim Thomas? What do these players have to offer that any contender would want?

My Picks:

Best Player: Stephon Marbury
Best Rookie: Nate Robinson
Prediction: 4th (Atlantic), 12th (East)

Overall Rankings: 91 to 120

Thu, 20 Oct 2005 17:00:35 -0800

1 to 30
31 to 60
61 to 90

91. Jamaal Tinsley – The ultimate tease; few can match his 3s/steals/assists combo, but he plain cannot shoot or stay healthy.
92. Eddie Jones – Certainly on the downside of his career, but can handle lots of minutes and hit 3s with the best.
93. Al Harrington – Won’t ever have a huge breakout like some had hoped, but should be solid as long as minutes are there.
94. Morris Peterson – See above.
95. Gerald Wallace – His big numbers (for his position) in steals and blocks will do a lot to offset his seriously lackluster shooting.
96. Ricky Davis – He’ll start, yes, but averaged 33 mpg last year and wasn’t anything all that special.
97. Sam Cassell – Could be a disaster, but Livingston is young and injury-prone; can’t forget how consistently awesome Sam was the three years before last.
98. Mike James – As long as he’s starting, he’ll be well worth using.
99. Mike Sweetney – Needs to lock down starting job, but will be a rebound/FG% monster if he does.
100. Sebastian Telfair – If he could shoot the 3 he’d be better, but 6.7 apg and 1.4 spg in April make him an OK option.
101. Mehmet Okur – As always, potential is there, but he’s usually frustrating to own with Sloan getting much of the blame.
102. Joel Przybilla – Ask the folks who drafted Mark Blount and Samuel Dalembert last year how reliable big men who finish strong are.
103. J.R. Smith – Hasn’t shown he can do anything but shoot a bunch of 3s; don’t go crazy with the kids.
104. Troy Murphy – We’re never too high on non-hustle stat guys, but if the Warriors run enough he should have some value.
105. Ben Gordon – Have to think he’ll break into the starting lineup eventually; still is a pretty one-dimensional player.
106. Raja Bell – Someone will probably jump the gun thinking he’ll replicate JoeJohn’s numbers from last year; that’s quite unlikely, but he should be solid.
107. Al Jefferson – Pick him up in January after the guy who drafted him too early gets frustrated and drops him.
108. P.J. Brown – Keeps on plugging away; needs to get that FG% back up to around 47%, but will be underrated as usual.
109. Wally Szczerbiak – His strong percentages make him worth having around, especially if he can get back up to 15 shots per game.
110. Nenad Krstic – Another one of those strong-finish big men to be wary of, especially since he doesn’t block many shots.
111. Brendan Haywood – OK, a bit of a homer pick, but it’s not unreasonably to expect 2 bpg with very nice boards and FG%.
112. Erick Dampier – He might be interested, he might not. His 12/12 with 2 blocks from a couple years is hard to ignore, but honestly, you probably should.
113. Eddy Curry – All of the big men in this batch have major questions, so just pick one you like. Could be an offensive force, but don’t expect any rebounds or blocks all of a sudden.
114. Jameer Nelson – He seems to be buried right now, just can’t understand why; 14.9/4.0/4.6 with 1.5 spg and 1.2 3pg after the break shows he’s more than ready.
115. Bonzi Wells – Is slated for lots of PT, but doesn’t have the greatest game and can get on coaches’ bad sides quickly.
116. Theo Ratliff – Even in a very off year averaged 2.5 bpg; if Przybilla isn’t for real should get a chance to reclaim his starting job.
117. Darius Miles – Perennial tease, but Portland is very thin this year and he does get a decent number of steals and blocks for his position.
118. Eddie Griffin – Yet another perennial tease, but he can be very effective with only 25-28 mpg.
119. Raymond Felton – We think he’ll get there eventually…
120. Brevin Knight – But until then, these two are going to hurt each other’s value.

Davis could start for Celts?

Thu, 13 Oct 2005 09:35:40 -0800

Cloning Ricky Davis seems to be the only way Celts coach Doc Rivers will solve his rotational issues. While Davis clearly excelled last year coming off the bench, it's also evident now that Paul Pierce needs Davis alongside to draw...